Only rest will help

Mommy, I want to sleep. Those are the most dreaded words my son can utter. Those words quicken my pulse, make my palms sweat and cause horrible thoughts to flutter through my mind like a million, migrating Monarch butterflies on their journey through Texas. Doctors' visits, shots and sleepless nights come to mind when Jude speaks those words.

Jude is a busy, bubbly, bouncing boy (Do you like my alliteration of the b?). He is in constant motion, physically and mentally. That's just how he rolls. One minute he's jumping off the couch. The next minute he's doing somersaults until he's dizzy and almost pukes.

Like me, Jude is always in perpetual motion, and I love that about him. Even as an infant, he never had time to sleep or to rest. But, now, when I hear him say those words, I cringe. I know something is wrong, terribly wrong. That's like the great white shark in Jaws saying he's not hungry, or like Mel Gibson denouncing Catholicism.

So, on Monday when my kid said those dreaded words to me, I knew he was sick, really sick.

After 3 long days of fever, vomiting, chest congestion, and a doctor's visit, he seems to be the same. He still feels cruddy, and his only request is to sleep for hours on end.

Yes, my busy-body boy has been overcome by whatever virus is inside of him. All of his energy is being used up to fight this nasty bug, leaving him lethargic, exhausted and sleeping.

To me, this is worse than him waking me up at 5 AM with a harmonica in his mouth, making screeching sounds resonating from the thing. This is the worst, most helpless feeling I can have as a parent. I've done all I can do: running the humidifier, rubbing Vick's Vapor Rub on his chest, caressing his hair, putting a wet rag on his head, giving him kid's Tylenol for the fever, etc.

I want to shower him with gifts from Toys R Us in hopes of making him feel better, but I know that won't cure him or make him feel better. I want to feed him Popsicles, Jell-O, candy, hamburgers, fillet Mignon and lobster, but he wants none of it.

Sleep is all he wants.